SCI FI Channel has announced the official return date of “Who Wants to be a Superhero?”:

SCI FI Channel’s hit reality series Who Wants to be a Superhero? from Nash Entertainment and POW! Entertainment Inc., returns for its second season on Thursday, July 26 at 9:PM ET/PT. The new season features an all-new league of 10 superhero contestants, exciting new physical challenges, a few fiendish villains, and two more episodes than last year 8 in all!

Who Wants To Be A Superhero? is a competition reality series unlike any other. It’s a show with heart, humor, thrills, adventure, surprises and spandex! It challenges a lucky few to create their very own superhero alter ego, live together in a secret lair under the watchful eye of Stan Lee and compete for the best reality competition prize yet: immortality! Once again this season, the winning superhero is immortalized in a new comic book from Dark Horse Comics created by Stan Lee himself. This year’s winner will also see his/her character turned into an action figure by Shocker Toys.

“I never thought anything could be more of a blast than writing stories about superheroes, says Stan Lee. “I was wrong! Appearing on Who Wants To Be A Superhero? has been one of the most exciting, fun-filled experiences ever! Imagine, instead of looking at panels of costumed cavorters on a page, I’m looking at them and talking to them and reacting with them in real life! And the tremendous feedback from fans via letters, emails and blogs is half the fun! Sorry I can’t tell you any more right now because I’m too busy writing my acceptance speech for the Emmy Awards, although so far I haven’t gotten any further than– “Excelsior!”

This year’s competing superheroes chosen from auditions around the country are:

Basura (aka Aja De Coudreaux / Oakland, CA) enlists the help of all bugs everywhere and uses her mystical powers to turn trash into treasures.

Hyper-Strike (aka John Stork / Plainfield, VT and Chicago) is a martial arts expert with super strength and agility and he can project his Chi (life force) through his hands.

Mindset (aka Phillip Allen / Ft. Lauderdale, FL) is a telekinetic time traveler on a mission to end all war. Originally named Omnicron, Mindset is the viewers’ choice on the show winning his place by Internet voters earlier this year.

Mr. Mitzvah (aka “Sir Ivan” Wilzig / Miami, FL and New York City) is real life Bruce Wayne who lives in a castle, this multi-millionaire’s mission, under the guise of Mr. Mitzvah, is to save the lives of children.

Parthenon (aka Dan Williams / Orlando, Fl) is an archaeologist who gets his mystical powers from an ancient gauntlet he discovered in Greece

Whip-Snap (aka Paula Thomas / Dallas, TX and Los Angeles) Raised in Texas, this superhero has a mastery of the whip and if her bare skin touches a villain that villain is turned into sand.

These 10 fearless defenders of truth and justice will match wits against the new nemesis Dr. Dark, a masked evildoer who torments Stan and the superheroes throughout the season. No one knows his real identity, that is, until the exciting season finale.

Also new this season is Executive Producer and show runner Andy Scheer. He previously produced Hell’s Kitchen (Co-Executive Producer/FOX) SCI FI’s Mad Mad House (Consulting Producer), Paradise Hotel (Supervising Producer/FOX) several installments of VH1’a Behind the Music series (Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Lee Lewis, Alice Cooper) to name a few. He has directed many popular series and specials including American Idol (FOX), Popstars (WB), My Life is a Sitcom (ABC Family), Teen Choice Awards (ABC), Reel Comedy (Comedy Central) and Music Mania (ABC Family).

Who Wants to be a Superhero? was developed by Stan Lee, Bruce Nash and Scott Satin. Lee and Nash are also the show’s executive producers. It is produced with the SCI FI Channel by Nash Entertainment, and Lee’s POW! Entertainment, Inc. Additional Executive Producers are Andrew Jebb and Gill Champion.